When sitting in the bottom of Armour J. Blackburn, in what is known as the Blackburn game room, many are unaware that they are in the midst of a practice room. The renovated bowling alley, which was recently added spring 2009, is the practice room for the Howard University women's bowling team.
An area known to many students as a recreational center is the preparation site for the six Howard women on the team. Many Howard students, who were unaware of bowling, were also oblivious to the knowledge of even having a team.
Junior public relations major, Jummy Obayanju, had no idea that the team existed. "We have a bowling team? That's extremely cool, but sadly enough nobody knows," Obayanju said. "I'm sure if there was much more circulation about the team, students would love to come and support."
The bowling season generally begins in late October and ended Feb. 28. Coming off a victory at the Capital Classic this past weekend, the team's current overall record is 26-71. They defeated North Carolina A&T in the Capital Classic being led by Jordane Frazier who leads the team in game point averages with 171.3. Brianna Uzzell has the second highest game point average on the team with a 171.0 for the season.
During the Capital Classic, Taneeka Hanna had a game high 204. The team consists of six members; freshman Jordane Frazier, junior Taneeka Hanna, freshman Jasmine Hardesty, junior Alseyn McCall, senior Elizabeth Sanders and sophomore Brianna Uzzell.
The team is coached by Ron Davis who has been involved in bowling for almost 30 years. He started in a community center helping elderly people play. When one of the community center directors saw him bowling, he told him he could see his passion for bowling and should pursue the sport.
Now, Davis is finishing his fourth season as the head coach. Previously, he was the acting head coach for three seasons and prior to that served as the assistant coach for two seasons.
Seeing a minor improvement with their record from previous seasons, the team is hopeful for next season.
"I want us to win the MEAC next season," Coach Davis said. "We would definitely like to see more support. I hear that from my players all the time. I would place some of the blame on us as far as not promoting."
"I believe if we can get more people to come out and support a home tournament, that can help us receive that one extra we need," freshman Jordane Frazier said.
Frazier also added she would like to see a little more dedication and harder work from herself and teammates.
"As far as PR and this being such a large university with such a large amount of students, it's harder to get people to recognize our team," Frazier said. "I think if we were more successful, we would be more popular and supported."
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